


Cover Me

by crookperkdeck



Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Genre: Claudette and Nea are here but only briefly, It's angst but it's bittersweet angst, M/M, Pre-Established Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 11:58:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20081836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crookperkdeck/pseuds/crookperkdeck
Summary: The Entity doesn't let you die, but it finds other ways to kill you.





	Cover Me

There were just two survivors left, and one generator.

They had silently agreed to each other that Claudette and Nea would distract the killer, David would rescue any way he could, and Jake would focus on the generators, with room for making repairs or rescues in a pinch. It was something of a code, their wordless communication, and it probably could have been admirable if not for the circumstances that made it necessary.

Claudette had been the one to discover who the killer was first, her steps more hurried than that of the street artist. Walking in such a way resulted in a trap snapping shut on her leg, and Jake could hear her cry of pain across the field where he was conducting his repairs. It made his blood run cold.

The first blood shed in a trial always did that to survivors, a reminder of how real everything was around them. Jake himself felt terrified for Claudette's sake and wanted to rescue her, sabotage some traps, _something_, but he had been in too many trials where someone thought to diverge from the plan and caused everyone to fall in rapid succession as a result. He had to focus on himself so they could all survive, an odd sort of selfishness that he had to wrestle with every time there was a plan like this.

Despite all of their efforts and coordination, Claudette was sacrificed by the time the third generator was powered. That made Jake's mind race with panic, and his actions became a hurried effort to get them out faster.

Repairing, repairing. Another survivor screaming. Nea. The rattling of the generator's engine getting louder. Nea's spirit rising from its place on the hook. David couldn't get to her in time. But Jake had been close. Maybe he could have saved her. The fourth generator powered. Light beaming down on Jake's form. Hiding nearby. No sound of a killer's footsteps. David was being chased, he must be. But the last generator had to be done.

For a moment Jake played with the idea of dropping everything to find a chest, to pray for the slightest chance of a flashlight being there that could stun the killer into leaving David. But that was too much time spent looking and not enough time repairing. They had too few people to afford being bold like that, and it was better to focus on the objective. David, certainly, would want it that way.

Grease, as unnatural as the being that produced it, got underneath Jake's fingernails as he worked, and the tactile sensation was enough to remind him to keep repairing and stay grounded. Few could outrun a killer like David could and he needed to keep faith, even with the visual of David hitting the ground from a killer's swing haunting his mind.

Repairing. _Repairing_. The purr of the generator getting louder. A purr turning into a growl. It was almost finished, anyone close would be able to hear that.

Jake felt his hearing heighten with the victory so close, trying to key in on any sound of an approaching killer. But he heard a different sound, one of David hitting the ground very close by with a shout of pain.

Jake froze instantly, brain jumping instantly to _run_, run before The Trapper came for him because David was already done for.

He steadied himself and chose to sneak away instead, much slower of a retreat but untraceable. He knew that meant The Trapper would look around more vigilantly because running meant tracks and tracks meant _distance_, so the lack thereof meant Jake would be close.

But Jake could hide as long as he needed to so David could recover and get away. Then he could find the man and they could both finish the job on the generator together.

Seconds crawled in moments like this, where Jake had to hold his breath or bite into something to make as little noise as possible. Had to limit his glances at the killer to focus on sound, because if he got a visual on The Trapper then The Trapper could get a visual on him. Finding suitable times to stand or crouch, to balance mobility with stealth. It had taken a lot of practice to be good at such a thing.

The Trapper spent a good amount of time looking for him, despite the threat of his other target bleeding out if he didn't go and find him. Finally, after enough tiptoeing around each other, he gave up, going in the opposite direction to try to find David.

When at a safe distance, Jake let out a breath that burned his lungs from holding it in for so long. Find David, that was the next priority. The Trapper hadn't damaged the generator so it was likely that he was staying close, leaving the bait for Jake, so Jake knew to stay stealthy until he found the fellow survivor.

But he needed to find him before The Trapper did.

Jake searched around corners, places where David tangibly could've crawled away to get some quiet. In some places there were traps, evidence that The Trapper also knew Jake would check these places. He quietly snuck around them, knowing sabotaging them would be a waste of time at the moment.

Time was of the essence, after all, since David could only be alive for so long without help. Jake felt as if he was _competing _rather than surviving, going against the behemoth that was just as competent - maybe even more so -- as Jake with tracking people.

Sound proved to be more important than vision again, however, as Jake heard an undisguised grunt of pain escape from who could only be David.

He headed towards the source and found the survivor leaning against a wall, placed in a perfect cross of plain sight and inconspicuousness. It was no wonder he couldn't be found by either party.

"David," Jake said, relieved, and it felt so abnormal to say something aloud, even if it was a whisper. The existence of the other survivor gave him an overbearing sense of relief at just being _alive_, so he couldn't help it.

David, despite everything, greeted him with a smile. "Hey. I thought I'd kick it 'fore you got to me." He spoke in hushed tones, and it made this moment seem more isolated between them. Safe, even, despite the killer looking for the both of them.

"Where were you hit?" Jake asked. He didn't even bother with the hand signals to communicate since they were already speaking. "Have you recovered?"

"I kept him going for a long time. You must've noticed. You tell Meg how long I kept him runnin', alright?"

"Sure, sure. Have you recovered?"

David's eyes were out of focus, Jake realized, the more he talked. He must've lost a lot of blood.

"Big bastard really didn't hold back. You should've seen him going after Nea, you'd think somethin' was chasing _him_. She didn't have a chance, I couldn't have gotten between that. None of us could've."

"_David_," Jake said, giving him a light shake. "Are you recovered?"

David placed his hand over Jake's on his arm. "No, didn't bother. I just wanted you to be here for this."

Jake took a moment to study David's expression, _really _study him. His eyes were out of focus, of course, but in a way that reflected ease of mind. _Complete _ease of mind, like some weight upon him had been taken away. _In the middle of a trial? While being close to dying?_

"David, what's going on?" Jake asked. His hands on David's now tightened, trying to steel...David? himself? He wasn't sure.

"Been doin' some thinking. Surprising, I know, coming from yours truly. But I think I did this for so long because I felt there was a _chance_. A chance at...at...getting out. Helping out the others. _Beating _those fuckin' killers. But there's nothing like that. There's not ever going to be."

All the talking was making David weak, it was obvious, but he seemed desperate to get it out. When he finished his thought, he went limp and Jake moved to hold and right him.

"I mean it feels like a fuckin' _game_, and I'm sick of being _looked at_. I used to fight for money but at least that had a _reward_, right? What do I get here? The same thing all over again. I'm _tired, _Jake. I'm tired."

Jake wanted to say something, to tell David he was wrong but...there really was no evidence of that. Jake had just accepted the reality of this faster than David had.

David's thumb, freshly wet from his own blood, reached up to stroke Jake's cheek and left a line behind as he did so. “I can't tell what's real anymore. I want to keep my eyes shut, but I know I gotta keep 'em open. It's hard to even look at you sometimes.”

A sob broke through him and only half of it was from the pain. Jake had the man in his arms but he still felt like an onlooker, useless and completely unable to intervene.

David was going slack in his arms again, even that great spark of strength and vigor being rapidly drained from his body. “But this isn't so bad, is it?” he asked when he was able to get his voice, cocking his head coyly. He was able to keep that charm in until the very end, and Jake felt he should be awestruck. “I kinda like havin’ my own terms for this.”

“You’re not giving up, are you?” Jake asked. His voice was normally monotone and firm, even in the most desperate of moments, but something was making him vulnerable here. It was wrong, he thought, for these kinds of circumstances to turn him into something like this, too open and too overwhelming.

But David always made him feel like that.

“Wouldn't that be a relief. Givin' up. Before I didn't do it because I didn't _want _to give up, I didn't want everyone to give up with me, if you'll let a dyin' man be honest," David said, laughing under his breath before his expression crumpled. "But we can't win. We can't, I get it now, and I don't know how I could handle one fuckin' _minute_ more of this. The odds are too unfair."

_Unfair_. Of course it was unfair, the survivors could never match up to the supernatural physicality and mentality of the killers, and Jake had never thought to label it as _unfair_. It was like saying that grass was green - a thought that no one ever considered because it was a fact of life.

Seeing the broken expression on David's face helped him understand just how _unfair_ it was. How unfair it was that they had no chance, how they had always been doomed, and how they had to cower even now when all David wanted was some peace.

No remorse. No fairness. It wouldn't be a nightmare otherwise.

Jake never understood how devastating that was until looking at David's expression, however. In all his strength and boldness, he had been drained away. And had given up. The Entity had won.

"I liked playing with the idea that when we got out of here, we could meet up somewhere. Do something normal together. But I don't have a choice in that anymore. So I'll take this."

Jake heard the sound of a generator being kicked, drawing him away from David's words. They had spent too long sitting here, and now any more time would mean the generator's repairs would regress more and more.

"Come on, we have to -"

"Don't bother. Stay with me. Until it's over?" David asked, both affection and hopelessness swimming in his eyes.

"We can both make it out if we just -"

"_No_. The hatch is down that way," David said, pointing towards a repaired generator. "I passed it when we were running around, so he might've seen it too. Get there quickly after I go, okay?"

"Stop it. You're...once we get to the campsite, we'll get your head straight," Jake said. Frustration was surging through him at the emotionality of the situation. He pushed David's hands off of him and moved him to try and find a wound, the survivor in all of his weakness completely pliant to it.

"Don't think you get it, babe." That was a word Jake didn't hear often, normally shared when the two of them would sneak away from the campsite on the excuse of taking a walk. "It's over for me. You go on."

"And what do you expect me to do after that? Just leave you here to…" He didn't have the strength to say the word, because he didn't even know if David _would_ die. In the real world he could believe in some god taking him away, ending the pain, but here there was just The Entity. The fucking Entity. The frustration deflated in him and he felt tears well up in his eyes.

"Yeah, I do. Because it's my last request to you. Can you do that for me?"

"Fuck you," Jake said, but there was no strength in the statement. He held David closer to him.

"I love you."

"Fuck you. _Fuck you_." Unfair, unfair world.

"Go on, Jake. It hurts to talk anymore." David said, closing his eyes. All of the pain in his expression faded then, changing to...relief. Jake wasn't sure if he was still alive or not, but he clung onto the man like he was the one thing keeping that strand of life there.

After a minute, he finally let go. Time was running out _again_. He needed to get to the hatch.

He didn't run nor sneak, just walking forward without the strength to turn and look behind him. _Of course_ he wanted to gaze at David longer. But he knew if he did so, he wouldn't be able to keep walking. He would give up too.

Jake finally reached the hatch, howls almost deafening from his proximity. He knew The Trapper was coming, that he could be yanked out of the hatch if he lingered too long, but he didn't want to jump down.

He couldn't be sure of how many survivors he would see when he got back. He couldn't be sure if there would be three survivors gazing at him with that post-trial hopelessness, or if there would just be two. He didn't want to see it for himself, he just wanted to gaze in the distance where he knew David had been real and tangible and _relieved_. It rooted him to this spot, despite the fear welling in him that he would be painfully sacrificed if he didn't leave _now_. Fear welling in him of not following David's last request.

The recognition of ground crunching nearby gave him that final push to go inside. 

"I love you, too." Jake said. He lowered himself inside and felt it supernaturally close above him.


End file.
